Oliver & Company 2: Sykes Return
by Cold Spirit
Summary: Everybody thought Sykes was gone for good, but what will happen when he reappears with a new canine enforcer? And what will happen to Cree, the sister of Sykes new dog, when she is torn between the dog of her love, and the dog of her past?
1. Prologue

_His teeth were long and sharp, _and coming straight at her. She ran as far as the docks, then turned and faced the dog, her brother, and growled, "Don't do this, Dean! If you remember anything about how it was before, don't do this!"

Dean snarled at her and said, "Don't insult me, Cree, of course I remember. But when you became an enemy of my master, you became an enemy of _me_." Dean took a step towards her and snapped near her neck. Cree yelped and jumped back, her hind paws slipping off the dock. She slid until she hung to the edge, at least twenty-five up from the ocean below. Dean stepped forward and barked loudly in victory.

"After all I did to find you after we got separated; this is how it's going to be? Going to end? You're a disgrace to our heritage; you make me sick!" Cree yowled. Dean growled and lunged. He had aimed for the sky-blue, tie-dyed bandana that was tied around her neck and resting on her back. He missed and his jaws clamped around her shoulder blade. Cree saw in his eyes that he was fighting two battles now. She could tell that part of him wanted to throw her off the dock, to kill her for hurting his master; but another part of him remembered days of running around the streets of New York, causing trouble and laughing in the face of danger. All too late, the memories of the past won over. But Cree's claws faltered and she fell backwards.

"No!" Dean shouted as he watched his sister, the only part of his past still intact, be swallowed up by the ocean.

Cree's body was tossed about the by the ocean, thrown mercilessly by every wave. Her shoulder stung from the salt water, most of the skin had been torn from it. Blood poured into the ocean, creating a cloud of red around her. Her vision became blurred for loss of blood, and she felt herself grow weaker and weaker. Finally her mind gave way to a dizzying blackness.


	2. Chapter 1

_Oliver trotted after Jenny as she _left for school. "Bye-bye, Oliver!" Jenny called. Oliver meowed back to her and jumped up on the windowsill. Jenny waved, and then disappeared out the door. Oliver watched to make sure she got into the bus before jumping down off the window.

"What to do, what to do…" he sighed. It was times like these that Oliver remembered Dodger and the gang. He missed them, but he knew that Jenny needed him more than Fagin. He would sometimes see his old friends on the street whenever he was let outside; they still lived on the old boat and kept up with their "jobs" of pilfering food and other things. But he wasn't some little kitten that didn't know how to work the streets anymore. He had grown into a lithe, adolescent tom. But he still had a tuft of fur on his head.

"Missing Jenny already, are we?" Georgette sneered. She has lightened up somewhat over the months, but not so much that she didn't antagonize Oliver whenever she got the chance.

"No, it's not Jenny, it's..," Oliver began. Winston came in through the door with what looked like an unconscious Australian shepherd in his arms.

"Oh dear, of all the people…" Winston muttered. Georgette just scowled. Oliver went after him. Winston gently put the dog on a dog bed in the parlor. "I'll have to get the vet out here for this," he murmured.

"I hope that mongrel doesn't think she's going to stay there. She's moving the moment she wakes up. You make sure of it; I'm going to my aerobics," Georgette said, walking away. Oliver sighed and looked back to the dog. There was a large patch, at least the width and length of his face, on her shoulder where there was no fur or skin. Her flank was covered in scratches and a few deep looking gashes. She had on a sky-blue tie-dyed, tatter bandana tied around her neck and laying against her back. Suddenly she shot up, gasping for breath. Oliver yowled and jumped back.

"Whoa!" he yelped. He was shaking a bit and had to take a moment to calm himself. The dog's eyes were wild and breathing was heavy. "Calm down, it's OK. No need to panic, you're safe now," Oliver said, to himself just as much as to her. She drew a shaky breath and looked him over carefully.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Cree's vision slowly focused on the orange tabby cat in front of her. She started to calm her breathing and found her voice, "What's going on?" she asked.

"You're at 1125 5th Avenue. The Foxworth's house," he answered, as though he had memorized the address. Cree gave him a confused look. "Never mind. So, what's your name? Mine's Oliver," he asked.

"Cree. The name's Cree," she answered. Something clicked in her brain and she said, "You smell, well, sorta like a dog…"

"I get that a lot. It's probably because spent yesterday with a couple of friends," Oliver answered.

"You have dog friends? Did I die or is this some kind of weird alternate reality?"

"No, you not either of those. I'm friends with some really cool guys, and of course there's Rita," Oliver said.

"Rita? She's with those guys Dodger, Tito, Einstein, and Francis, right?" Cree asked.

"Right. You know them?"

"Know them! I grew up with them. Me and…," but she trailed off. Oliver gave her a look that seemed to tell her to go on, but he dropped it when he saw how she wanted to forget.

"So, what happened exactly?" he asked, lifting his paw towards her shoulder.

"Nothing. Just an accident. Hey, you say these guys are your friends, right? So then you know them pretty good? Could you tell me where they are?" Cree asked.

Oliver smiled, "I could do you one better and take you to them. I'm going soon to meet them, so if you're feeling up to it, we can go now." Cree wagged her tail and smiled. "OK, let's go!" Oliver said, turned and starting towards the door, which had been fitted with a dog door so he could get in and out. Cree followed him through.

Outside, they walked down 5th Avenue and then turned onto a side street. They kept on, turned and twisting down many busy roads until they came to the docks. Cree swallowed and stopped, staring out at what she knew must be where the fight took place. She saw the claw marks still fresh on the dock's edge. _I was so close to them all the __time… _"OK, so if we wait here, they should be coming along anytime. Fagin's been letting come out alone ever since Sykes died," Oliver stated, sitting down. Cree got a strange look on her face.

"What do you mean 'died'? How long was I out?" Cree asked.

Oliver shrugged, "I don't know, but he died months ago."

"He's not dead! I saw him, just last night… I know it was him… If this is a joke, it's not funny," Cree stammered.

"No joke, he's dead. In fact, I just about went with him. Long story, I'll have to tell you later. Hey look!" he said. Cree looked out and saw a group of dogs jump up from somewhere below the docks. The dog in front was unmistakable the artful Dodger. Behind him was Rita, then Einstein, then Tito and Francis. The only change since the rescue on the bridge was that Dodger's ear were tattered a little at the ends. Cree saw Fagin, too, but he was walking the other way. "Hey Dodger," Oliver greeted.

"Hey, hey kid. What's up?" Dodger replied.

"Nothing much. How about you guys?"

"Same old, same old. Now who do we have here?" Dodger said.

"Memory going, Dodge?" Cree teased. Dodger looked her over and shook his head.

"No, no, I'd remember someone like you."

"Try without the scar on my face," Cree told him. There was a scar that went through her left eye.

Dodger took a closer look and said, "Just pulling your leg, Cree. Could never forget you."

Cree smiled, "Thought you'd come around."

"Cree, Dodger's told us about you. You've been gone awhile," Rita stated.

"I could say the same thing," Cree said. After catching up, Cree went with them and Oliver into the city.


	3. Chapter 2

"_Alright, Cree, you still got _yourstreet _savior-faire_?" Dodger asked.

"Of course," she replied. They were near Central Park.

"Alright, so then let's get to it. Einstein, you go with Tito and Francis. Check out any main streets for cars that look like they could hold some value inside. Rita, I believe the challenge of getting the food falls on your shoulders today?" Dodger began. After Rita nodded, he went on, "Alright, so that leaves you two with me. Everybody got it? Let's go make Fagin proud." Everyone set off, and Oliver and Cree fell in behind Dodger.

"Where we headed, Dodge?" Oliver asked.

"The only place to go when your in our kind of business. Central Park. Speaking of business, have a look over there," Dodger replied, jerking his head towards a bag sitting on a bus stop bench. "Perfect opportunity." They walked to it. Cree looked around to make sure the owner of the bag wasn't around, then turned to help Dodger and Oliver.

"Who'd leave this lying around?" she said. She pulled out a cellphone. Oliver pulled out a nice-looking leather wallet with a few ones inside, but no ID.

"Whoever it was, they must not be from here," he replied.

"Amen to that," Dodger said, his head inside the bag. He pulled out a MP3 player. "Pretty dumb to leave this behind. We better get the valuables and beat it before the owner gets back, what do you guys say?" They nodded and grabbed their findings.

"Hey, we got the jackpot, man, we hit gold," Tito told them when they met back up. Tito had a digital watch, Einstein had an old tennis ball, and Francis had a disposable camera.

"Didn't do to badly ourselves, either," Dodger said. Everybody in the gang sat the pilfered items down on the sidewalk. "Nicely done, guys, not bad at all. Fagin's gonna hit the roof when he sees this stuff. And it's only three! We're on a roll today."

"Oh hey, it's already three? I gotta get going before Jenny gets home. I'll see you guys around though!" Oliver said as he put the wallet down in the pile and ran back towards 5th Avenue.

"And Fagin will be back soon, too. Let's get going while the goings good," Rita said. She had brought back some hot dog links. They ate them quickly, grabbed their stuff, and then headed back to the boat. Cree looked for a place to turn off.

"Hey, Cree, hows about you crash at our place? You know, it'd be like old times. Fagin might even let you stay there, if you want to," Dodger said to her.

Cree smiled. "Sure," she replied. Thinking of old times with Dodger and her brother cause her memories to cascade. She remembered running from dog catchers, sleeping in whatever shelter they could find, and picking fights with any dog they crossed paths with. That had been before Fagin, before Rita or Einstein or Tito or Francis. Then, one night, they ran across Roscoe and DeSoto. Sykes had been nearby, threatening some poor fool (in every since of the word "poor"). A massive fight took place and the three were separated in the nightlife crowd. Cree had spent the next two years searching for her brother, until last night.

"Here we are. Come on in, I'll introduce you to Fagin," Dodger said, jerking Cree out of her memories. They had come to an old ship that had seen better days. They walked down some stairs and came into the only part of the ship that looked somewhat sound. A chair from a jet plane sat to one side, and there were make-shift dog beds all around it. There was a small TV in front of the chair. A shaggy man in a green trench coat, red t-shirt, and blue overalls stood up and walked over to them. He had red hair that poked out from up under his hat.

"Well guys, seems you brought more than just stuff home today," he said. He crouched down beside Cree and scratched behind her ear, then looked down at her shoulder. "Oh, well that's not too good. It should be alright soon though, don't worry. So guys, what else did you bring in?" Everybody put their stuff down in a pile for him to see. "Wonderful!" he said, riffling through the pile. "Come here, you guys!" he said, stretching out his arms. All the dogs looked to one another, then dog-piled on top of Fagin. They wrestled and chased and played like that for at least half an hour, then finally, at around five forty-five, they all collapsed and started to laugh. "Ha-_ha_! Sometimes I wish Sykes were here to see this!" Fagin sighed. Cree froze. Sykes? Her brother's master, the horrible, terrible, foul old Sykes?

"What does he mean, he wished Sykes were here?" Cree asked.

"To see the look on his face, man. It'd be hilarious!" Tito answered.

"Careful what you wish for..." Cree muttered, looking to a small hole near the ceiling that looked out into the world. _What if Sykes comes here? What if he brings Dean? Ugh... Just stop it, Cree, cross that highway when you come to it. No, IF you come to it. _As watched the others, she couldn't help but wonder of she had just envisioned Sykes last night. That maybe that dog wasn't real either. But when she looked over her shoulder, her doubts became nothing. The brother she knew would never attack her of his own accord. And the brother she knew had a scar on his left shoulder, which the dog last night had. _Things are changing, Cree. Its time to accept it and stop living in the past; things will never be as they once were._


End file.
